East Riding Waste Team Issues Festive Recycling Advice

Tonnes of waste, including cards, wrapping paper, cardboard boxes and leftover food, are generated during the holidays – and the vast majority can be recycled.

East Riding of Yorkshire Council says it's residents are "officially some of the best recyclers in the country and will no doubt continue to show their support for the council’s waste and recycling services".

The council's waste and recycling team has issued festive advice to help residents recycle even more during the festive season.

Their advice is to Leave it loose – and keep out the black bags, they say:

"Please put all recycling loose in the blue bin – and never into bags.

Leaving items loose in the blue bin, and not in bags, can increase recycling as:

• sorting the waste much is much quicker and more efficient for the recycling plant,
• more waste can fit inside blue bins,
• there’s no need to buy bags especially.

Black bags are classed as contamination because they can’t always be split open or the contents separated, and they can also damage some sorting machines.

They can lead to more loads of waste being rejected by the recycling plant."

Councillor Chris Matthews, the council’s portfolio holder for environment and climate change, said:

“It’s more important than ever that people place the right items in their blue bins.

“We’re urging residents to keep their recycling clean, dry and loose to reduce contamination – and I know they will do all they can to help.”

East Riding Residents are urged to sort their bags of waste before taking them to household waste recycling sites.

Separating different materials before a visit makes recycling much easier – and it means even more can be recycled as people are more likely to put the right items into the right skip or container.

But to help, sorting tables are provided at each East Riding household waste recycling site – complete with gloves, a litter picker, paper towels and anti-bacterial handwash – so residents can sort through bags or boxes.

Recycling containers for each type of item are sited next to the table – so people don’t have to travel across the site to the various skips.

The sorting tables have helped to increase recycling at all sites.

Bin collection dates will change over Christmas and New Year. Normal collections will resume from Monday 9 January.

View your bin collection days on the East Riding of Yorkshire Council app, the bin collection calendar sent to residents through the post, or at our website bins.eastriding.gov.uk

Household waste recycling sites are open from 10am to 5pm each day, but will be closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. They will close at 4pm on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.

Real Christmas trees can be recycled by placing them next to brown bins for collection in January or taken to household waste recycling sites. Please remove lights and decorations.

Broken Christmas lights and other unwanted electrical items can be taken to the small electricals section at household waste recycling sites.

Unwanted Christmas gifts can be donated to charity shops or taken to household waste recycling sites to donate them to the Reuse Shop for Dove House Hospice.

Batteries – Please don’t put them in bins! Instead, take them to supermarkets and local shops which have battery recycling collection boxes, or to any household waste recycling site.

Crisp packets and plastic bags can be recycled in some supermarkets.

Polystyrene can’t be recycled, so please place any in your green bin.

Clothing, shoes and textiles can’t go in your bins, so please take these to local clothing recycling banks or to charity shops.

Blue bins can be used to recycle Christmas cards, envelopes, wrapping paper, cardboard and cardboard boxes, plastic tubs and trays, all glass and plastic bottles and jars, cans, tins, aerosols, tin foil, foil trays, books, newspapers, magazines, juice cartons, egg boxes.

Please make sure they are all empty, clean and put them loose in the blue bin.

Brown bins can be used to recycle all cooked and uncooked food waste, including plate scrapings, peelings, meat, turkey and other bird carcasses, meat bones, egg shells, tea bags and small amounts of sauces, creams and soups. Any garden waste can also go in the brown bin.

Free kitchen caddy liners to put your food inside are available at household waste recycling sites, customer service centres, libraries, mobile libraries and leisure centres.

For more information on what items go in which bin visit council’s website at bins.eastriding.gov.uk or download the East Riding of Yorkshire Council app to your phone.